Fashion World Enraptured By John Galliano's Dumb New Collection

Four years after a drug-fueled anti-Semitic rant imploded John Galliano’s career—resulting in his firing first from Dior, and later from his eponymous label—the designer has launched a comeback of sorts with an “artisanal” (what) collection for Maison Martin Margiela at the end of London’s fall 2015 menswear presentations.

Despite much simpering from the fashion elite and an over-the-top review from Suzy Menkes at Vogue, the collection is not exactly groundbreaking. There are some interesting moments—winners were the most intricate looks, as well as the simplest:

The craftsmanship here is pretty breathtaking:

This simple column is great, if completely out of tune with the rest of the collection (in that it feels current and wearable):

A lot of the collection, however, was just weird, sloppy, and uninspired. I have no patience for this ridiculous “classic Galliano” look, for instance:

I am not down with this messy, indecipherable pile of garments, nor am I into those fuzzy caterpillar buttons or the godawful dual-toned tights:

I guess this is “surrealist fashion,” if surrealist fashion means an un-wearable mini muu muu with droopy shell-eyes stapled to a bandeau top:

Robin Givhan at the Washington Post wrestles with the designer’s sudden pirouette back into the good graces of the fashion industry:

But one can’t help but wonder if people are pulling for Galliano because they feel a moral obligation to believe that our better angels can always thrive if given the chance — or because they fear fashion will be less entertaining, less lucrative, less buzzy without him? Is forgiveness being given generously or selfishly?

Do we really “need” his “genius”? Have we really been lying in wait for four years, starved of creativity, the fashion industry a husk of its former vibrant self? No.

In her piece, Givhan poses the question: “How good do John Galliano’s clothes for Margiela have to be to earn forgiveness?” Apparently, not very: